Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1407173
wanted to play ball there. After I'd done all the flight screening and everything, I was medically disqualified from being a pilot and literally I had to pick a career field. I knew I wanted to do something with airplanes and so maintenance was the best option. I don't think a lot of folks come into the military knowing what it really means to serve, unless you have a background in it. But once I got there, it was like this is absolutely a perfect fit. I like the structure, the sense of purpose and just doing something that is bigger than yourself. Col. Holbeck: I'm the non-Academy person. I just grew up very patriotic and always wanted to serve. I went to college to play golf. After college I had no idea what came next, so I called the 800 number and went to the local recruiter — and the rest is history. MM: With a career in the military, oftentimes you're moved around and assigned to different places to serve in different roles. Did any of you ever have a choice about where you wanted to go, or did you make any career moves strategically? Col. Droz: My approach has always been: I'm going to just do whatever they ask me to do and I'm going to do it absolutely the best that I can. And if you do that, opportunities come. I've had some assignments that I thought initially were an absolute backward step or not what I was expecting or not really what I wanted, but I'm also in kind of a unique situation. For my first 21 years, I was married to an active duty member — he just retired a couple years ago. Our goal was really to stay together and to continue to serve and so sometimes we had to take an assignment that wasn't on our radar. But everything worked out! Col. Holbeck: I can tell you though that I made a strategic life decision by joining the Georgia Air National Guard from active duty. My husband and I, our families are both two and a half hours away. That's a strategic life decision, not necessarily career, but it did work out well. Gen. Hammerstedt: I remember when I got my first assignment when I was in my last year at the Academy. It was to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and I cried because I wanted to go to Charleston. Naively, I really wanted to go to a base on the East Coast, and looking back, going to Davis-Monthan was the best thing that could have happened to me. I learned through that very first assignment there are opportunities at every assignment, and I am better to just let the Air Force decide where I should go next. It has worked for me ever since! MM: Certainly, the historic nature of your appointment as commanders is not lost on you, right? How does it make you feel to be part of such a unique situation as Robins having four female commanders? Gen. Hammerstedt: I think it was probably lost on all of us until people started asking about it. Col. Droz: But I will say that after it was pointed out to us, I don't think any of us really wanted to make a big deal out of the fact that it was four women. I think we're all just who we are. We're leaders in our own right and we all got to where we are completely independently. But I saw how my daughters reacted when they saw me standing up on the stage and taking the flag and it resonated with them why it is important. But I don't think any of us were aware until it was pointed out to us. Gen. Hammerstedt: Like Lindsay said, it is organic how this happened, so it validates what we say, which is that our Air Force puts leaders where they need them at the right time. I will say though that the cool thing is that these three leaders are amazing, and it is an honor to serve with each of them. Col. Droz: Three of us go back 20 years. And Amy is just awesome! So, for me personally, that's the part about this that's kind of cool is that it's fun to serve with great people. When I found out I was going to be Michelle's neighbor, we hadn't seen each other in 23 years, but we reconnected like it was yesterday. MM: Do you feel a responsibility to younger female Airmen, or even to your daughters, to be a role model of leadership? Col. Droz: I still don't look at it as 'MY APPROACH HAS ALWAYS BEEN: I'M GOING TO JUST DO WHATEVER THEY ASKED ME TO DO AND I'M GOING TO DO IT ABSOLUTELY THE BEST THAT I CAN. AND IF YOU DO THAT, OPPORTUNITIES COME.' — COL. LINDSAY DROZ AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2021 | maconmagazine.com 45